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The extraordinary reluctance to admit that the cat population is a major menace to birds and other desirables passes right over cat enthousiasts.

Lots of cat owners recognize this problem. I am a big advocate of indoor only cats as pets because of this.

As far as toxoplasmosis being the cause of people's affection for cats, or causing them to make illogical decisions regarding cat populations, I would like to see some actual evidence of that. I've heard such claims for years, but I have seen no evidence for it. Toxoplasmosis can cause neurological problems, but those are rare and I haven't seen that loving cats is one of the symptoms.

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease that is most commonly transmitted through the feces of infected cats. People can contract it from handling cat litter. It can also be found in undercooked meat or contaminated water. The parasite that causes it, toxoplasma gondii, is carried by nearly 30 percent of all humans and in most cases is considered relatively harmless. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates more than 60 million people in the U.S. may have it.

However, in some people, the researchers found a link between the parasite and Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED), a psychiatric disorder characterized by recurrent, impulsive, problematic outbursts of verbal or physical aggression that are disproportionate to the situations that trigger them.

A single-celled parasite called Toxoplasma gondii causes a disease known as toxoplasmosis. While the parasite is found throughout the world, more than 60 million people in the United States may be infected with the Toxoplasma parasite. Of those who are infected, very few have symptoms because a healthy person’s immune system usually keeps the parasite from causing illness.

...

Symptoms of the infection vary.

- Most people who become infected with Toxoplasma gondii are not aware of it.
- Some people who have toxoplasmosis may feel as if they have the “flu” with swollen lymph glands or muscle aches and pains that last for a month or more.
- Severe toxoplasmosis, causing damage to the brain, eyes, or other organs, can develop from an acute Toxoplasma infection or one that had occurred earlier in life and is now reactivated. Severe cases are more likely in individuals who have weak immune systems, though occasionally, even persons with healthy immune systems may experience eye damage from toxoplasmosis.
- Signs and symptoms of ocular toxoplasmosis can include reduced vision, blurred vision, pain (often with bright light), redness of the eye, and sometimes tearing.

Chimps infected with T. gondii lose their natural aversion to leopard urine. Which is perhaps bad news for the chimps.

This sort of behavioural change would be difficult to study in humans. If we find an association between cat-loving and toxoplasmosis, we can't nail down which direction the causal arrow points in. We'd need to randomize a cohort of children living in cat-free houses to be fed toxoplasma or placebo, and then look at their cat ownership in later life. For some reason ethics committees get really stuffy about study designs like that.

Note:
During life, we all develop attitudes and strategies to make our interactions with others more pleasant and useful. If I mention mine here, those comments can apply only to myself, my experiences and my situation. Such remarks cannot and should not be construed as dismissing, denigrating, devaluing or criticizing any different attitudes and strategies that other people have evolved as a result of their different situation and different experiences.

This sort of behavioural change would be difficult to study in humans. If we find an association between cat-loving and toxoplasmosis, we can't nail down which direction the causal arrow points in. We'd need to randomize a cohort of children living in cat-free houses to be fed toxoplasma or placebo, and then look at their cat ownership in later life. For some reason ethics committees get really stuffy about study designs like that.

I dreamed about my dad's family last night. My uncle was there, hanging out with us. He died nearly twenty years ago. In the dream, everyone knew that and was willing to ignore it because it meant we got to spend a little more time with him.

_____________________________________________
Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

Got my car back. Pleasant walk on a sunny winters' day, down to the local panel beaters.

They've done a good job - as much as the car deserved, and stuff was fixed that was already broken before the crash, so I can't complain. (Heck, they even vacuumed it - that's something I've done twice in the 12 years I've had it.)

The insurance company is taking their sweet time investigating, so I had to pay the excess of $400. Will have to wait and see if I get that back.

Celebrated by going straight 'round to the supermarket for a few groceries. Been interesting being a motorcycle-only household for a while (in the coldest rainiest part of the year).

I didn't even know these places existed. Wood Libraries (xylaria) http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-2...nches/10033194 It would be really relaxing to wander through here just touching and looking at the samples. I would also think that the whole place would still have a beautiful aroma.

I didn't even know these places existed. Wood Libraries (xylaria) http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-2...nches/10033194 It would be really relaxing to wander through here just touching and looking at the samples. I would also think that the whole place would still have a beautiful aroma.

But it's a good hurt, because I've been falling farther and farther behind on my catapult work and just went out and solved a problem I created about three weeks ago, the last time I worked on it. Now I can actually go ahead and make some progress. And maybe even do some tasks that don't require so dang much bending over.

I've been laughing and laughing at video of two guys dressed up as a zebra apparently out in the wild. They get jumped by two lions and one of the lions runs off with their stuffed zebra head. The big cat keeps glancing back, somewhat surprised to see the "zebra", in two parts, running away. It looks baffled.

I've been laughing and laughing at video of two guys dressed up as a zebra apparently out in the wild. They get jumped by two lions and one of the lions runs off with their stuffed zebra head. The big cat keeps glancing back, somewhat surprised to see the "zebra", in two parts, running away. It looks baffled.

I've been laughing and laughing at video of two guys dressed up as a zebra apparently out in the wild. They get jumped by two lions and one of the lions runs off with their stuffed zebra head. The big cat keeps glancing back, somewhat surprised to see the "zebra", in two parts, running away. It looks baffled.

That looks very staged.

CJSF

"What does it mean? (What does it mean?)
What does it mean? (What does it mean?)
I'll put it in my thinking machine"-They Might Be Giants, "Thinking Machine"lonelybirder.org

I finally got around to climbing this improbable object:
A big fin of rock that protrudes from the side of Sgurr Dearg in the Cuillin of Skye. It's customary to go up the east ridge (right) and abseil off the west face (left). The east ridge is just a moderate rock climb (which is as low as the scale goes for rock climbing in the UK) but the exposure is quite dramatic - the ridge is narrow, and the views to either side drop a long way.
If you want a pretty good impression of what it's like to climb, take a look at the POV video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdYq2cWP4kk (The fella keeps calling it the "south ridge", but corrects that in the title of the video.) The very wide angle of the helmet cam makes for a slightly nauseating view, and makes the ridge seem narrower than it really is, but for my money gives a good impression of what it feels like to be there, if you're a pedestrian like me. He's also very appropriately concerned about the down-climb along the same route, whereas I did the customary abseil. And of course he's free-climbing the damn thing, whereas I had an avuncular guide and a tight rope all the way up.

Note:
During life, we all develop attitudes and strategies to make our interactions with others more pleasant and useful. If I mention mine here, those comments can apply only to myself, my experiences and my situation. Such remarks cannot and should not be construed as dismissing, denigrating, devaluing or criticizing any different attitudes and strategies that other people have evolved as a result of their different situation and different experiences.

Note:
During life, we all develop attitudes and strategies to make our interactions with others more pleasant and useful. If I mention mine here, those comments can apply only to myself, my experiences and my situation. Such remarks cannot and should not be construed as dismissing, denigrating, devaluing or criticizing any different attitudes and strategies that other people have evolved as a result of their different situation and different experiences.

Wow, the phrase “because it’s there” springs to mind. With all the implied motivations of human monkeys. On a similar but less ridge like climb in my youth, I remember the muscle freeze of panic part way up and the long time it took me to overcome it to move at all. It was a similar feeling climbing the spiral inside the Happisburgh lighthouse. It floors several visitors regularly who then descend sitting on each step. And that is depite a good solid hand rail.

sicut vis videre estoWhen we realize that patterns don't exist in the universe, they are a template that we hold to the universe to make sense of it, it all makes a lot more sense.Originally Posted by Ken G

I finally got around to climbing this improbable object:
A big fin of rock that protrudes from the side of Sgurr Dearg in the Cuillin of Skye. It's customary to go up the east ridge (right) and abseil off the west face (left). The east ridge is just a moderate rock climb (which is as low as the scale goes for rock climbing in the UK) but the exposure is quite dramatic - the ridge is narrow, and the views to either side drop a long way.
If you want a pretty good impression of what it's like to climb, take a look at the POV video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdYq2cWP4kk (The fella keeps calling it the "south ridge", but corrects that in the title of the video.) The very wide angle of the helmet cam makes for a slightly nauseating view, and makes the ridge seem narrower than it really is, but for my money gives a good impression of what it feels like to be there, if you're a pedestrian like me. He's also very appropriately concerned about the down-climb along the same route, whereas I did the customary abseil. And of course he's free-climbing the damn thing, whereas I had an avuncular guide and a tight rope all the way up.

Grant Hutchison

Better you than me! My fear of heights would have always precluded me from doing such a climb, but congratulations on doing it.You were right about the video's "slightly nauseating view", my stomach took a definite flip.

I am not a spirits drinker but I could certainly imagine sitting back looking at that sunset with a glass of rich red wine in my hand.

Pretty much so, in my case. I fixated on it like a baby duckling the first time I saw it, 40 years ago. You climb a 3000ft hill, and when you get to the top you discover this huge flake stuck in the flank of the summit, like God's Own Hand Axe, and slightly overtopping the ridge.

Note:
During life, we all develop attitudes and strategies to make our interactions with others more pleasant and useful. If I mention mine here, those comments can apply only to myself, my experiences and my situation. Such remarks cannot and should not be construed as dismissing, denigrating, devaluing or criticizing any different attitudes and strategies that other people have evolved as a result of their different situation and different experiences.

You climb a 3000ft hill, and when you get to the top you discover this huge flake stuck in the flank of the summit, like God's Own Hand Axe, and slightly overtopping the ridge.

I managed to find a public domain image to show what it's like:
The big lump foreground right is An Stac, which we walked around on a "path" you can see as a paler strip of rock. Behind An Stac, sticking up above the skyline, is the splendidly named Inaccessible Pinnacle, which is what I climbed. There's a person standing beyond it, on the ridge and silhouetted against the sky, to give some scale.

Note:
During life, we all develop attitudes and strategies to make our interactions with others more pleasant and useful. If I mention mine here, those comments can apply only to myself, my experiences and my situation. Such remarks cannot and should not be construed as dismissing, denigrating, devaluing or criticizing any different attitudes and strategies that other people have evolved as a result of their different situation and different experiences.

I leave to be outstanding in someone else's field today. Last night, I spent ten or twenty minutes mending and have four or five pieces of clothing off my mending pile. I have to stop and buy elastic, and I have to remember to bring needle and thread. All the electronics have to charge, including the nifty little camping lantern I picked up earlier this summer. But the kids come this weekend, and I've got their staff all sorted. I picked up a large bottle of massage oil for my boss's daughter, who got her license as a massage therapist over the off season. (She's also getting the massage table that's been sitting in Simon's closet since before he was born.) Sure, most of my stuff is just in a giant pile in the living room, but I cleaned out the car yesterday and figured out how the rear seats get put away. Simon's going to help me go through my three check lists (one for each of us), actually being a useful part of the process for the first time.

_____________________________________________
Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

Unfortunately it just isn't very practical for me to go from here. Have a blast!

We did, though we felt lied to by the weather report. I had childcare issues--crossed connections meant that Irene's babysitters were only there for part of Saturday--but she was a pretty good kid, and Simon's babysitter is more important anyway. And he helped to fling a trebuchet full of water balloons!

_____________________________________________
Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

We did, though we felt lied to by the weather report. I had childcare issues--crossed connections meant that Irene's babysitters were only there for part of Saturday--but she was a pretty good kid, and Simon's babysitter is more important anyway. And he helped to fling a trebuchet full of water balloons!